He’s a doctor, not a physicist! Well, technically he’s not either. DeForest Kelley became a household name following his role aboard the USS Enterprise as Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the Star Trek franchise. This Monday, January 20, marks what would have been his 100th birthday, making this the perfect time to trace the centennial history of this beloved actor.
Born in 1920, the Georgia-native broke into acting with low budget feature film Fear in the Night in 1947. He followed this with a role in Variety Girl which resulted in the founding of his first fan club. After moving from California to New York, Kelley found work on stage and live television for a few years before returning to Hollywood. Once there, Kelley had roles on You Are There, The Lone Ranger, and Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. These roles led to many movie offers, including Warlock with Henry Fonda and Anthony Quinn and Raintree County alongside Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, and Lee Marvin.
Kelley also appeared in episodes of The Donna Reed Show, Perry Mason, Wanted: Dead or Alive, Boots and Saddles, Dick Powell’s Zane Grey Theater, Death Valley Days, Riverboat, The Fugitive, Lawman, Bat Masterson, Have Gun – Will Travel, and Laredo. Throughout his first nine years in the business, Kelley racked up an extensive list of credits primarily portraying villains. Afraid of typecasting, he broke away from villains to star in the romantic drama Where Love Has Gone. Shortly thereafter, Kelley starred in pilots for 333 Montgomery and Police Story penned by a certain man by the name of Gene Roddenberry. While neither of these projects were developed into series, this was hardly the last time Kelley would see Roddenberry.
In 1964, Roddenberry approached Kelley about playing Spock for Star Trek. This role was later famously given to Leonard Nimoy with Kelley joining the series in 1966 as the cantankerous Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy. What began as a supporting role in the first season would grow into a character with great importance as he became a main cast member in the following seasons. He reprised his role as Bones for the first six Star Trek motion pictures and provided voiceover work in Star Trek: The Animated Series. He also had a cameo in the debut episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation as the 137-year old Admiral Leonard McCoy, Starfleet Surgeon General Emeritus.
His final live-action film appearance came in the sixth Star Trek film The Undiscovered Country. While his final film work was providing the voice of Viking 1 in the second and third installments in the animated children’s series The Brave Little Toaster Goes to Mars. Later on, Kelley expressed his interest in poetry, publishing The Big Bird’s Dream and The Dream Goes On. In 1991, Kelley received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was awarded a Golden Boot Award shortly before his death. Kelley succumbed to stomach cancer in 1999, but his impact on the Star Trek universe will never be forgotten.
